RB - Social Responsibility - Research

Intrepid, in association with Victoria University and the government body Aus Industry, completed a two year research project to assess the impacts of our trips to sensitive rural communities titled "Small Tour Group Impacts on Developing Communities". The comparative report on five village communities (in Thailand, Vietnam and Borneo) demonstrates that Intrepid trips are providing mixed outcomes for local people in these communities.

Some of these outcomes include:

Renewal or support for traditional practices, such as arts and crafts, through local initiatives like craft markets.

Empowerment of women due to employment and leadership opportunities created by Intrepid's visits.

Increased knowledge and awareness of other cultures amongst local people due to direct and meaningful interactions between local people and Intrepid groups.

Support of household livelihood strategies through financial benefits gained by activities associated with Intrepid's visits.

Direct employment opportunities for some members of the community through activities such as traditional massage, guiding, portering and cooking.

As part of its commitment to providing leadership on sustainable tourism practices, Intrepid has decided to make this report available to the general public. This report was completed in 2002, but we believe the issues and the recommendations remain current and relevant to remote community-based tourism.

To support our efforts as a responsible business and evaluate our impacts on the destinations in which we travel, we have provided support for academic research in key areas.

Intrepid Travel has recently worked with Community Based Tourism researcher David Knight to explore the impacts and benefits of tourism amongst four communities in Peru’s Sacred Valley.

With funding support from Intrepid, David worked with community tourism groups to better understand how to unlock opportunities for local people through sustainable tourism. The report, entitled “Poverty Alleviation Through Tourism”, detailed several findings and recommendations from a series of community interviews, including:

• Enhanced opportunities for women in the communities, through visits by Intrepid Travel groups (Increased income, employment, respect from their husbands)

• Greater community involvement in training of tour leaders

• Improved communication between communities and our local offices

• Awareness of rising cost of providing services to travellers and ability to adjust prices accordingly

Recommendations from his research have been implemented by our operations team in Peru.